COVID-19 'lab-leak' theory: What is it as per Trump's new website amid tariff war with China?
World | The White House's claim opposes the widely accepted narrative that the virus originated naturally from an animal-to-human spillover. This narrative has been supported by many scientists as well.
Amid the tariff war with China, Donald Trump has now brought back the controversial COVID-19 lab-leak theory in the discussion as the White House refreshed an existing website on the virus. Previously, the website was dedicated to information around vaccination and testing of the COVID-19 virus, but now it boldly claims that the virus, which set the entire world on a pause in 2020, was a result of a lab accident primarily from China's Wuhan.
The White House's claim opposes the widely accepted narrative that the virus originated naturally from an animal-to-human spillover. This narrative has been supported by many scientists as well.
Naturally originated?
The website ow primarily criticises the “The Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2,” a study against the lab-leak theory.
The White House further alleged that the top medical advisor of Joe Biden, Dr Anthony Fauci, promoted the narrative of animal-to-human spillover. The Website alleges that “The Proximal Origin of SARS-Cov-2" was used by public health officials and the media to silence the lab-leak theory in favour of a more widely accepted natural origin.
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The key points
Not just claims, the White House even explained five key points to support the claims that the virus was a result of a lab leak.
1. The website claimed that the COVID-19 virus has biological elements that are not typically found in nature.
2. As per data, all the COVID-19 cases can be traced back to a single human introduction, not like previous pandemics, where multiple spillovers took place.
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3. The location of the epicentre of the virus outbreak is near the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV).
4. Several WIV researchers showed symptoms similar to COVID-19 in late 2019, months before the virus was linked to a wet market in Wuhan.
5. The website further said that if the virus had originated naturally, the evidence supporting the claim would have emerged by now, but they haven't.
